HGGundam Build Fighters (Build Custom weapon line)

Kurenai Weapon

A cheap box of guns that makes almost any HG kit look like it just leveled up.

MechaGrade Score

3.5/5

Kurenai Weapon · 1/144 · 2015

GradeHG

Scale1/144

Released2015

Runnersn/a

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The verdict

Kurenai Weapon isn't a mobile suit, it's an arsenal, and judged as an arsenal it earns its keep.

For under ten dollars you get a hyper bazooka, two beam rifles, a beam gatling, a handgun, two gunblades and an E-PAC, all molded in red and dark grey so almost none of it needs paint. I built this as a loadout upgrade for an Amazing Red Warrior and came away impressed with how much firepower fits in one small box.

Best for: HG builders who want a universal weapons upgrade for their favorite 1/144 kit without buying a whole second model

The full review

What it is

This is a Build Custom accessory set, not a suit kit, so the whole build is essentially an afternoon of assembling guns. The hyper bazooka is the star, it breaks down into a firing-mode configuration with a separate muzzle piece, and the beam rifles (Otsu and Kai variants) both have grips that pivot up, down, and to the side so they actually sit naturally in a Gunpla's hands instead of floating at a fixed angle. The gunblades attach directly onto the handgun for a bigger silhouette, and the grip piece converts between a beam gatling and a beam rifle depending on which look you want. For the price, it is a genuinely clever little system.

The catch

Because it is designed around the Amazing Red Warrior specifically, the E-PAC backpack unit and some connector joints are a tight or loose fit depending on which HG kit you're actually attaching it to, universal compatibility is real but not perfect out of the box. There are foil stickers for the sensor camera and small detail marks rather than molded color in a couple of spots, so you're back to sticker work there. It's also entirely weapons, there's no articulation or engineering story to tell because there's no body, so if you were hoping for a suit review this isn't one.

Who it's for

Buy this if you already have an HG kit you like and want to make it look meaner without committing to a whole new model, the hyper bazooka and gunblade combo alone make the price worth it. It's also a smart pickup for anyone building an Amazing Red Warrior since that's what it was designed around first. Skip it if you're new to Gunpla and want your first kit to be a complete suit, since this set gives you nothing to pose without a donor kit already in hand.

The build story

What the build is actually like, and the engineering worth knowing about.

The build is quick, mostly clipping small weapon parts off two runners and snapping them together, there's very little cleanup needed and no cement required. Gate placement is reasonable for how small some of the barrel and grip pieces are, though the beam gatling's smaller components take a careful hand with nippers.

The standout engineering is the hyper bazooka's firing-mode swap and the dual-pivot grips on both beam rifles, which solve the classic problem of Gunpla weapons looking stiff in a figure's hand. Between the bazooka, two rifles, gatling, handgun, and two gunblades, the part-count-to-price ratio is excellent, this is one of the better value adds you can attach to an existing HG collection.

Lore & trivia

01Kurenai Weapon translates roughly to Red Weapon, matching its color scheme and its origin as the signature loadout for the Gundam Amazing Red Warrior from Gundam Build Fighters.
02It's part of Bandai's HGBC (High Grade Build Custom) sub-line, a series of parts and weapon packs meant to be mixed onto any compatible HG-scale kit rather than built as standalone suits.
03Official compatibility notes list it working with kits as varied as HGUC Crossbone Gundam X1, HGUC ReZEL Type C, and HGAW Gundam Double X, well outside the Build Fighters continuity it was designed for.